How about this, the Dayton 15" series II for $88 from Parts Express (quantity 2). And then do I buy (1) BASH 500 watt plate amp from PE for $228, or for versatility do I get (2) 250 watt amps for slightly more??

Welcome BOB. I use the plate amps from MCM. The first is the 350w with remote(part# 50-6282) and the 250w(part# 50-6281A) with much success. They both have more than enough power and easy to adjust. Plus sometimes, if you can wait, the 250w sells for $100 and the 350w for $150 if they are "ON SALE". I have used both of these amps with HWK15(2 DAYTON IIs) for about four or five years with no problems. I am sure there are better amps but of course I am on a budget. I would like to try EP1500 or EP2500 from BEHRINGER to run two HWK15s. That would be sweet to try that much power thru the HWK15. Hope the info helps.

Currently $144, and $209 respectively. Would like to wait till the "sale". But unknown how long that may be. At MCMinone.com, they only show 2 in stock of the 350W amp :'(. Still eying the Parts Express plate amps though??

im a big fan of used gear, lots of used amps on e bay? and i would use 1 amp for both drivers, just to eliminate the posibility or mis matched parts / signal? (power amp and stand alone x over?) i wouldnt fit a plate amp to a h.w. the vibration might de solder everything fairly quickly?

I agree with 60. My plates amps do not sit close to anything that can be vibrated by the HWK15. BEHRINGER is used mostly for pro-audio and DJ equipment. They could be adapt to work HWK15 with the right crossovers and equalizer. Parts Express has the best deal or price as of now but that is still $128 for 250w plate amp. Rythmik Audio also has a plate amp that looks like the Parts Express amp. If you play the 250w amp at moderate to loud volumes with the HWK15(loaded with two DAYTONS) you will need a cooling fan. I notice the BASH amp is located at O Audio web site and it look very interesting but to get to 500w means alot distortion(THD). The THD at 400w with the BASH seems much better power rating vs the 500w rating. Let me know what you find and the kind of budget you can afford.

well, you might want to try a used pa amp because of at least two reasons : they're EXTREMELY reliable (have lots of protection circuits) and you know when you clip (if you will ever push one that hard). i have a 2*250w pa amp (180$ + 80 $ x-over) and it's more than enough for me. using it with a db10 and a db12 and the power indicators on the amp (showing how much it amplifies) rarely light up during normal listening levels.

I picked up a b-stock ep2500 for $200. Works great just had rack rash on it. I use it to run my Imperial. You check under the blowouts section of there website under Live Sound/PA they have quite a few amps for sale there.

Good point about the power indicator Adrian D. I pick up a couple of Velleman mono led power meter kits from Parts Express(part#320-222). These things are cool and work perfect with a subwoofer plate amp. They do not need a power supply and just hook in parallel with mono output of the plate amp. I am unsure of how accurate they are but if your ohms are right I would say they are pretty close. You will be required to do some soldering and know basic electronics. The instructions are easy and if you go with different color leds you can tell the amount power being put out even in a low light room. If you look hard enough you can find them cheaper on the web. Adire Audio has some nice sub amps and you can locate them on the web. Hope this helps.

My first HW15 using 2 Dayton series II's was driven by a Keiga KG-5230 plate amp. Not a bad little unit, but as others have implied, maybe not ideally suited to this application. Replaced it with a QSC RMX1450, and never looked back.

Some very good ideas there. Interesting though, most recommendations for amps are not what I would call traditional. Lots of "pro" stuff. I, at this point in my DIY speaker building life don't even know enough to be dangerous. I could see myself buying a plate amp, a couple Daytons, some MDF and making a big noisey box. But you folks talking about pa amps, DJ amps, and "non traditional" amps scare the :o out of me. Not sure if I could wire it. I can solder very well, to answer HT-EXT, but wouldn't have a clue what to do with a HWK, and amp sitting in front of me if the instructions didn't say "install + to + and - to -". Am very willing to learn, have a decent automotive knowledge of wiring, but the advanced crossover / amp / driver wiring may be a cause of a future post or two. To answer HT-EXT again, I'm looking to spend under $200 for the amp (and crossover if one is needed). The room is 98% for home theater use so looking for a certain amount of overall quality. It sounds like it's possible given the posts read, and dollar amount.

The RythmicAudio 250W amp looks very nice for $100, but will it run the 2 Daytons 15"? The P.E. 250W with remote looks cool for $139. May do a remote mount plate amp, say, in the equipment rack with a cooling fan. So it doesn't get it's brains scrambled.

The power indicator LED's are neat. I always get goosebumps looking at the pretty lights.

The Behringer is currently running $299.99 at zZounds.com. I found some amps in the blowout section, but don't have a clue as to what I'm looking at.

Is an amp an amp? As long as you can plug it into 120V?

May try a pawn shop or two in my area. Sounds like an item a guy could find there. But once again, I feel like a 14 year old little girl in the tool section of Home Depot. ::)

When going to the pawn shops in your area ask the people at the shop if they have checked the amp out. Alot of the amps that you can buy at pawn shops may have one channel blown.

Basically all you need to test is a source (ie MP3 player) with a 1/8th inch jack (ie regular headphone) jack to a 1/4 inch mono jack. On the output of the amp you can put a speaker and wire + (speaker) to + (amp) and - to -. Do this for both channels on the amp. Make sure the output volume knob is turned to only about 10% or 15%.

When buying an amp always check RMS watts not peak. A good rule of thumb is to always have more power than you need so that you don't clip the amp.

I have found my crossovers on eBay. I have two DBX active crossovers. Got a steal on one that came with an amp (QSC USA 850), crossover (DBX 3-way crossover), eq (no name), and road case (SKB) for $100.

This is to run your subs with 200-300 wrms per sub.Go with a single amp if at all possible since both subs will be in the same enclosure. If you do get 2 amps, you will be able to later seperate the HWK into two seperate subs if needed. These are also not the only options.

Do not worry about soldering unless you buy the Velleman power kits. PA and DJ amps are just heavy duty stereo amps(20Hz to 20KHz frequency range) that can take the punishment of traveling and put out KILLER power. With PA/DJ amps you will need a crossover and maybe an equalizer for the HWK15. Subwoofer plate amps(20Hz to 200Hz frequency range) are good because they have built in crossovers, phase, and gain(volume) controls. Everyone is different so you will have to decide what you like. I use a 250W plate amp to run one HWK15(2 DAYTON SERIES II) and can bury the SPL meter with out any worries of course not for long periods of time without MR. FAN running. If you are looking for a excellent sub for home theater the WO36 is BADA--. Do not get me wrong I would not take anything for my HWK15s. The sound and SPL they put out are second to none. Remember the HWK is somewhat easier to build and the performance will out do most of the $1000 home theater subs. GOODLUCK!

The LSA-900 for $130 looks like the cats meow. (will attempt to find out why it's in the scratch and dent pile, supposed to be new in the box.?) Doens't look like I would need a crossover. I think it has one that quits at 150hz built in. If memory serves, my 7.1 surrounds can live with that.If I can get the LSA-900 for that price, I'd consider a step up in driver price. Yes, J_Rock, by the way, those Dayton series II drivers are the one's I was looking at.Doesn't look like I'd need any more equipment to purchace other than misc wiring, terminals ect...

I choose the Series II because the specs are so close to Steve's specs. The white paper plans says "Fs=20, Qts=.38, and Vas=10 cubic feet" is the ball park to shoot for in specs. The HWK should work with either Dayton. The best speaker set up seems to be baskets/magnets in the center chamber with the woofer's cone firing toward the ports. You will need to hook one woofer out of phase. Have fun with the BOOM!

you dont have to worry too much, if you build the hw right and put ok drivers in it , its going to give you what you want.i personally use an old jvc amp ($30 at a thrift store 50 wpc?) via a nice x over, and 2 old school jbl 15s', that amp combined with my h.w. fill a a big L shaped room, a big room probably 6 or 700 sq feet floor plan with enough bass to seriously upset my wife, because the outside of the house is vibrateing and disturbing the neibours! on 50 wpc???? just make sure you build the housewrecker 'to plans' and you will get the insane low end this cab is desighned to do with 2 or 300 wrms, im a little afraid for you, you might be half way through a movie and some subsonic sound will be there, and it will litterally make you, and anyone else watching, jump out of your skin with fear! imagineing that a semi truck just crashed into your house, because thats what its going to sound, and feel like.

about the power indicators...pa amps have power indicators on the INPUT, because all of them produce max power with 0,775v on the input.good luck with your project bob, and sorry for bringing up "older" replies. i have a 9 or 10 hrs time offset, so while i'm busy sleeping, you guys are posting a lot ::)

[quote author=60ndown link=1137542099/15#22 date=1137675318]....... you might be half way through a movie and some subsonic sound will be there, and it will litterally make you, and anyone else watching, jump out of your skin with fear! imagineing that a semi truck just crashed into your house, because thats what its going to sound, and feel like. [/quote]

That is so true! You get good powerful sub sonics going and movies take on a different flavor. Wait til you hear explosions that come in waves, or race cars, or semis that actually shake the room well below hearing ability and it sounds real, instead of like some fluffy bass thing happening over in the corner.

I wouldn't be too concerned with a description on a demo/scratch and dent/showroom/customer return item if the seller is reputable, but usually "new in box" doesn't necessarily mean "factory sealed" anyway. If they use the term "new" I expect a warranty of some sort. "In box" is good, but "in original box" might be better prepared for shipping across the country, again warranty is the question I would want answered up front, before making a decision. No problem either way as long as you know what to expect in advance. At that price it would be difficult for them to offer a warranty on a product that is questionable.

Waiting for Music Supply Center to get back to me about why it's in the scratch and dent bin.

Sunday I'll be at Home Depot buying MDF.

Bob

Just noticed all of the replies you guys made while I was trying to reach my credit limit. Amazing. You've all been VERY helpful. Just about the time I think society is going in the toilet, I find poeple like you. Willing to help a total stranger (idiot) spending your time surfing the net to give me links and advise.

No worries BOB these guys have help me alot too and most of my answers come from them and some experience. They put up with me and I'm a stup/drunk that loves BIG BOOM! Everyone here has their own opinion but the mission is the same "The Quest for Killer Audio". I am just happy to peg the SPL meter. Maybe the audiophile in me will show up later in life. GO BIG AND BOOM!

Yes, I will take pictures. Little old school in the shutterbug area. Will have to have them developed, then scan them. Not sure how they will turn out.

Crazy,......me.........ok.

I have better sidekick than "The Brain"......I have you guys.

Will be waiting for the mail every day. I'll let you know what the LSA900 looks like when it comes. Hopefully hasn't been run over by a truck. Fellow that emailed me back assured me it was 'new' and perfectly fine. (Then why so cheap?)

I can guess you are going to have a problem with hooking this amp up to your system, so I might as well right now(At work ya know, pretend to be busy)....

Well theres several ways to do it, first question is does your HT reciever have a sub out?(PRAY you do!)

If yes, how many RCA's are it?

If two, you can go a single RCA to 1/4 inch mono adapter for each RCA or each channel.

If one, you are gonna wanna get and RCA Splitter and then get 2 RCA to 1/4 mono adapter for each input channel.

*****You can use an XLR type connector instead of the 1/4 inch mono*****

If your Reciever does not have a sub out, get back to us, cause then its gonna be a pain.

Personally, I would hope for your reciever to have a single RCA for the Sub output, I would then split that to dual XLR(only reason would be for sturdy-ness). That would ensure both channels of the legion sound amp are getting identical signals. Otherwise, 2 RCA outs will work just fine.

Agreed. The 150 Hz lowpass integral to the amp is not low enough for a clean subwoofer... granted, the HWK is a bandpass box, so much of that higher frequency content will be attenuated in the cabinet, but the woofers will still be producing it and hence wasting energy. Unless your source has a sub out which is passed lower, you will need some sort of crossover to lowpass at about 80 Hz or so. If you have the sub out, you're good to go, and (as far as I can tell from the photographs) need only use a splitter as J_Rock suggested. If not, you need either:

1) An active crossover, which will filter frequencies prior to the amplifier, or

2) A passive crossover, which filters after amplification, and hence wastes power. This is the cheaper option, so you might want to do this for now and then swap out to an active crossover later.

I would use balanced XLR inputs wherever you can, instead of RCA or 1/4" jacks (you will need appropriate cables), and Neutrik speakon connectors for the amp output and HW input connections. No need to buy expensive pro audio cables - just buy the connectors and make your own.

i connected my pa amp to the headphone out on my integrated amp, using a y-splitter so that i have 2 XLR jacks going in the x-over. i am terribly sorry i didn't buy parts for the cables instead of buying the whole cable : 20$ for 2*1m xlr-jack cables and 2*1m xlr-xlr cables. i'm not sure if it would have been cheeper if i would have built my own.i have my dbs crossed at about 65, because i hate how the db-10 boosts the 100-120hz section.

I have started making my own cables. (After most of the HT cables were already purchaced) It's magical what RG-6 can be made to do. However I wouldn't think RG-6, or RG-59 would be good for post amp to speaker.

Yes, I think we'll make this easy, I have a single RCA 'sub out' on my Harman Kardon AVR-525. I'm proud of my backside.....anybody wanna see it?

Okay - you have the sub out, so that saves you having to buy an extra crossover. Incidentally, do you know what the low pass frequency of that output is?

Unless your amp has a summing input (where you can provide a signal to only one input channel but have both outputs driven), you will need to split this output into two separate channels, to feed each input channel of your amplifier. The sub out on your receiver is a female RCA, and you need to split this into two male XLRs. You may be able to find just such a cable, or use a cheap RCA Y adapter with two separate RCA to XLR single channel cables, or just buy the appropriate connectors and make what you need.

As for the amp to speaker connection, you could just wire this directly (I think your amp has binding posts for this purpose), but personally, I would shell out a few bucks for the Neutrik Speakon connectors - that is the other output jack you see on the back of the amp. One cable connector for each end of the speaker cable, and one input connector/dish receptacle for the cabinet. If it is a permanent home theater installation, it doesn't really matter, but the speakons give you a connection that is tolerant of many cycles of connection and disconnection (important if you move your gear around a lot), plus it looks cleaner (if that matters to you). The Speakons are bulletproof, and will accept up to 12 GA wire with no soldering necessary.